Born to be more than a gaming champion

Before the death threats start pouring in, please understand; if gaming is merely your hobby and you are able to switch off your PlayStation and actively participate in day-to-day life, then this intervention is not for you.

Many men are passionate gamers, and many of those are actually addicts. There are men who struggle with this and some can feel the effects of it, but haven’t realised that the dark feelings they are carrying can be largely attributed to that one gadget called PlayStation. It is a simple little thing. When you first bring it into your home, you celebrate it, “Finally something just for me, something I can sink into for a few hours to distract myself.” Sweet Escape. And when you see it lying idle in your home you cannot imagine that such a little thing as the PlayStation 4 can decimate a man’s potential and bring devastation to his marriage. Much like a trojan horse, this thing comes into your home innocently while the real enemy is hidden inside it waiting patiently for you to press the power button.

Fifa 16 has allowed you to be the manager of Manchester United. They have awarded you a million dollar salary, and a 5 million dollar budget to buy players. You have the power to make all the decisions. When you excel you can get more money. You are richer than you can imagine, you have a tremendous amount of power. You are the man!

As you sit there hearing the crowds cheer when you team does well, you feel good, you feel proud, you feel strong, you feel capable, you feel affirmed, you feel like a real man. But when your wife comes into the room and interrupts your state of euphoria bringing you out of your fantasy: look at her. Really look at her. The stress lines on her face, the fear and anxiety in her eyes, the desperation in her voice, the frustration in her temperament. Why does she look like that and why does she sound like that? Could it be because she is weary? You promised to look for a job 6 months ago. You promised to make a plan about that plumbing, you promised to go to church with her and the kids. You promised to come to bed last night but instead you fell asleep on the couch with the sound of the spectators from your TV screen as your lullaby. You promised to be her man and father to your kids. Those are hard promises to keep in a brutal world but let’s face it….

You are not the manager of Manchester United. You don’t have a million dollar salary. The crowds are not cheering for you. You are sitting there in your boxers, unwashed, unshaven and losing everything.

That was hard to say. However, it is essential to squash that fantasy and embrace the reality.

The reality is you are strong, you are capable and most importantly, you are worthy. You can make the choice today to be a real man. If God our Father thought you needed PlayStation 4 to bring glory to his name, your body would have a built-in PS4. But He made you in his image.

Let’s ponder that for a second. His image. Stand outside look around you, the God who made all that you see also made you in his image. Man that is power. How can that compare to a machine that will be redundant in a few years? God did in fact call you to be a manager and a leader, but of something far more fulfilling and sacred than Man U: your family. You are His primary representative, his number 2 guy. Do you feel the magnitude of that? When you walk into your house you walk in as Christ’s VP. That is swagger. That is pride. What is your mandate? “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:22-25.

Christ went above and beyond for his Church. So you must for your wife and family. There isn’t an economy in this world that you cannot conquer, there isn’t a temptation in this world that you cannot overcome. God has never and will never ask anything of you that is not feasible. Trust him and trust your place in his heart. Press power off,don’t even save your progress in that game. It is time to make real progress. Delete your profile that is not who you are; you are a champion that walks among men and is not trapped in a TV screen. Get off the couch get on your knees and declare ‘Jesus, your champion is here’. Get up and live, for that is your right and your blessing.

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